It’s almost time to celebrate National Coming Out Day with a special service at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Long Beach. On the whole, especially in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, GLBTQ members of churches know they are cherished, and are recognized as full and equal members of the body of Christ. So, if that’s the case, why continue to put together a special service for people no longer suffer from institutional oppression?

When the institutional church is at its prophetic best, its people not only think of themselves, but its relationship with the rest of the world; the world within the circumference of a singular church,¬† and the rest of the population encircling the city in which it resides. The world outside the halls of a sacred space might present a need to spread words of comfort; a bright shining voice offering welcome to others who continue to hear that they are less than human, that their love for one another is less than natural, and that their spiritual well being is hampered by disgust. Read More Ľ